The controversial right-to-work initiative was conceived during the 2007 legislative session but didn't gain steam until Gov. Bill Ritter signed an executive order in November creating a bargaining partnership with state workers, the campaign's political consultant said Thursday.

Proponents started plotting the measure after the introduction of House Bill 1072, which would have eliminated one of two votes needed by unions to set up all-union shops. The bill was vetoed by Ritter.

"It was very difficult to do anything (early on)," said Curt Cerveny, a consultant with Politically Direct in Denver.

But the group secured financial support after Ritter signed the executive order, which drew heated opposition from some business interests and Republicans.

Cerveny said the group spent about $300,000 to $400,000 gathering more than 133,000 signatures, which were submitted to the secretary of state's office Wednesday to get the initiative on the ballot this fall. Colorado Springs-based Kennedy Enterprises, a petition-gathering firm, collected the signatures.

The initiative would ask voters to amend the state constitution to say that union membership and the payment of union dues or fees could not be mandatory.

Through the end of 2007, the group, officially called the Colorado Right-to-Work Committee, had only $1,000 in funding, according to state records.

The lone donor, Protect Colorado Jobs, has the same address as Cerveny's Politically Direct.

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Cerveny wouldn't disclose the group's financial backers. He said the group will file updated financial records within the next week.

Cerveny said Jonathan Coors, the 28-year-old member of the Coors brewing family, was contacted about joining the movement in November and will lead the outreach to voters.

"He was invited to the dance, and he ran with it," Cerveny said. "For a young guy, he's got some serious gumption.

Coors coined the name A Better Colorado, which is what the group is now called. Other than filing the financial report, Cerveny said he is done with the campaign.

Prominent Republican political consultant Alan Philp has been a key player behind the scenes, recently gathering support from the business community.

Philp was the former executive director of the now-defunct Trailhead Group, which was formed in 2005 by then-Gov. Bill Owens, oilman Bruce Benson and beer magnate Pete Coors, Jonathan Coors' uncle. The group funded controversial ads hammering Democrats, including Ritter.

Philp has declined comment about his involvement in the right-to-work campaign.

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